


The Nest of Maggots

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [34]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen, Post-Aizen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 19:57:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3353378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6





	The Nest of Maggots

Starrk woke up to the feel of cold stone, chilling him through his light clothing.

Blinking groggily, he raised his head. Acting on instinct he tried to use his pesquina, but failed completely. He could sense absolutely nothing, could not access his powers at all. The Espada frowned, then stiffened as he remembered his defeat at the taichou's hands.

"Lilinette?" He spoke her name but heard nothing. Felt nothing. "Lilinette…" The pain of that loss made his eyes water. He reached up to rub them and realized his gloves were gone. In fact, all his clothing had been changed. Sitting up, he examined himself.

He was wearing clothing of black. It vaguely resembled a shinigami uniform, but it seemed plainer, somehow. There were very thick bands of seki stone on his wrists and matching ones on his ankles, along with some kind of belt. He tugged on it and winced faintly as he felt a bit of pain. Clearly, it was not meant to come off.

Starrk blinked as he realized he was unable to sense his own reiatsu. His power was not just lowered, or even partly blocked… it was like it wasn't even there. He might have had as much spiritual pressure as the lowliest of plus souls. Pushing himself to his feet, Starrk went to the door. He was prepared to find that it was locked, but it wasn't. No, it swung open easily, revealing a corridor.

He walked through the dark stone walls, glancing around thoughtfully. The chill was deep and ever present. If his hierro had been active that wouldn't have mattered, but even that was not working. The place was lit by small oil lamps, which did not generate much illumination. However, there was a courtyard. Starrk stepped out into it and smiled as he glanced up at the sky. This was a nicer place than the inner walls.

Apparently, he was not the only one to think so. There were plenty of shinigami there, wandering about and talking to each other. Some were playing games. A larger group was dicing and one man was sitting in front of what looked like a handmade shogi board, appearing to meditate. Immediately, several of the shinigami – were they really shinigami though? – gave him their attention.

"So you're the new meat. What are you, anyway?" One stranger demanded, frowning at his hole and mask fragments. They were clearly displayed by his robes. Starrk paused before shrugging.

"An arrancar." He was vaguely aware of the fact that he was in danger. If all of these strangers decided to kill him, he would have a very difficult time fighting them off. He had a suspicion that none of them had any more spiritual power than he did, but if they swarmed him he would die.

"What's that?" Another one wondered and Starrk blinked.

"A kind of hollow that has removed his or her own mask." He supplied after a moment. "Although many of us were created by Aizen and the hogyoku." He wasn't one of those. He'd been an arrancar long before the traitor had gone to Hueco Mundo. That got some serious interest from his audience.

"Aizen Sosuke? Look, can you tell us what's been going on from the beginning? The last new meat we had in here was ten years ago." One of them said and Starrk blinked at that. But he had a few questions of his own.

"Before we go into that, where am I?" He had absolutely no idea. The talkative one frowned but responded.

"The Nest of Maggots. It's where they put shinigami who are 'dangers to Soul Society'." The man spat and Starrk blinked. "We've all either failed their assessments or had some other kind of issue. There's no trials. Just toss us away and then throw out the key."

"Oh." That explained why he was here. It seemed a strange thing for the shinigami to do, though. Why hadn't they just purified him? Putting that thought away for later, Starrk attempted to explain. He started with what he knew of the invasion of Soul Society by the fighters of Karakura town, which wasn't much. Then he explained Aizen's actions in Hueco Mundo and everything that had led up to the Winter War. That, he knew fairly well.

"You fought Kyoraku taichou? And you're alive?" One of the strangers said, sounding awed. Starrk shrugged slightly, reaching up to touch his chest. He could feel the scar there. Someone had healed him but the marks remained.

"Not intentionally. I'm very durable." He'd been practically cut in half and his body had still managed to repair it. "You see the things they've put on me." He held out a hand and there were a few murmurs as the men took in the fullness of his restraints.

"Impressive. That means the seki stone would not be enough to contain you." A very old man said. He was so old he appeared wizened. Starrk realized that he had been the one sitting in front of the shogi board. "Well, this is all very interesting but there is nothing we can do about it. Would you like to play shogi?" He sounded hopeful and there was some laughter from the others as Starrk readily consented.

"Another for your trap." The first man he'd been speaking to said derisively. Starrk wondered what that meant. "What is your name, arrancar? I'm Nagano Shizu."

"I am Coyote Starrk." He said as the old man led him to the shogi board. The wizened man soon introduced himself as Kyoraku Nakaru, to Starrk's surprise. "You are related to…?"

"Hmm, yes, he is my nephew." The oldster said as he made his first move. "Nobles can end up here if we fail too spectacularly. Honesty moves me to admit that I am a terrible and dangerous man. They were right to put me here." He said cheerfully and Starrk blinked. "I did amazing things… but alas! I failed on the last step. My own nephew had a great deal to do with it. Ah, well. I'm not bitter anymore. Such things happen, eh?"

"I… suppose." Briefly, Starrk wondered how long the man had been imprisoned. Possibly quite a long time. He took his move on the board. The old man kept chatting, no doubt thrilled by an audience that had never heard his stories.

"I used to have extra restraints, but my power has faded with age. That seems to be a Kyoraku thing. Something for my nephew to look forward to, eh? Although it will likely take another thousand years. Would you like to hear the tale of my cut throat ways?" He asked cheerfully as he made his move. Starrk nodded.

"I would be honored." He was starting to feel very comfortable. The shinigami prisoners were more accepting of him than the Espada ever had been. Starrk carefully considered the board, plotting several moves ahead before he took his play. He was very good with shogi but he could already tell he was up against a master. Vaguely, he wondered if the man was so eager to play because the other inmates would no longer play with him. That was always the danger in being too good… or too powerful. Starrk smiled a bit to himself at the thought.

He had no power here. There was nothing to keep the others away.

* * *

Starrk had no idea how long it had been since he'd been placed in the Nest of Maggots, but his shogi partner said it had been over a year.

"With this courtyard we can at least see the seasons change, a bit." He confided and Starrk nodded. "You came in spring and we went through winter – you remember – " Starrk blushed a little as he was reminded of his own reactions. He hadn't known what snow was, at all. The other inmates had needed to coax him out into it. "And it's summer now. So yes, over a year."

"I wonder why they didn't just purify me?" He wondered as he gazed over the board. This time, he thought he might win. He won very rarely but it did happen, which was more than any of the other prisoners could claim. The man chuckled and Starrk glanced up as he took his move.

"You are a knife that has been put in the drawer. So powerful and so good natured! Not a horrible danger like me." He said cheerfully and Starrk nodded. He'd gotten to know the man quite well by now. He was harmless now, with his power so faded, but he was both intelligent and ruthless. The other inmates tried not to get on Nakaru's bad side. In a way, he reminded Starrk of taichou-san… but without any kind of morals to hold him back. He would have been terrifying when he'd been younger.

That meant, though, that Starrk had made a very fortuitous friend. A few of the inmates had cornered him and beaten him up, once. They'd been found dead not long later, their throats slit. Nakaru did not want to lose the only person who could give him a decent game of shogi.

Nakaru was not his only friend, though. Starrk smiled as he thought of it. He knew most of the inmates by name, now, and some were quite amusing. One particular fellow was nicknamed Big Mouth because, apparently, he'd had very vocal intentions to 'rule Soul Society.' Starrk wasn't entirely certain why the shinigami had put him in here. He was a bit of an idiot and his dreams were laughable. Not like Nakaru's cheerful stories of how he'd planned to completely control the noble's council and gradually extend his reach until he ruled all of Soul Society from the shadows. THAT had been a well thought out plan that had almost succeeded…

His shogi partner took his move and Starrk stared at the board, propping his chin in one hand thoughtfully. He could not afford a stupid move, the other inmate would pounce on any mistake. He was about to take his move when another inmate ran up to them.

"Starrk! There are two shinigami taichou just entered and they want you!" Starrk paused, his hand over the piece and glanced up in surprise. Nakaru sighed.

"Ah, I was afraid of that. Time to take the knife out of the drawer, eh? Well, I will go with you." He said cheerfully and Starrk rather doubted the man intended to look out for him. No, he was mostly interested in annoying the taichou in question. Something he did not in the least bit object to.

Starrk was dead right about that. One of the taichou in question was the one he'd fought and he was not in the least bit happy to see his relative.

"Uncle. I thought you would be dead by now." He said with a civil smile. Nakaru smiled back, an expression that was equally false to Starrk's eyes.

"Oh, you know me nephew! Just keep on ticking. And I'm not as old as Yama-jii yet!" He said cheerfully and Starrk saw Shunsui's eye twitch. It was the slightest thing but he didn't think he appreciated the way his uncle was speaking of Yamamoto. Perhaps because it was too familiar? He had no real idea. Then the other person with him, the woman who had helped defeat Barragan – Starrk would never say she had outright defeated him, without the Visored man she would certainly have died – spoke.

"Silence, reprobate." She ordered and Nakaru closed his mouth, looking a bit hurt. Starrk couldn't help but smile. The old man was a shameless reprobate. "Coyote Starrk, we are here to offer you a chance at rehabilitation." She began to go into the conditions of his release and all the ways he would have to prove himself but Starrk wasn't really listening.

"I refuse." He said as soon as she paused for breath. Taichou-san tilted his hat back, looking at him with surprise. "I like it here." He said bluntly and the two shinigami exchanged a confused glance.

"You like it here?" Shunsui finally said, as if it was the strangest thing in the world. Nakaru quietly tittered. They had spoken extensively so HE understood what was going through Starrk's mind. Starrk lifted his arm, gazing at the heavy restraints there. Then he looked at the pair of taichou again.

"When Aizen recruited me, he promised to make me weak enough that others could withstand my presence. He also promised me comrades if not friends." Aizen had been quite honest in his promises. A comrade was very different from a friend and he had never quite made that promise to his Espada, although it had been implied. "The Espada all feared me. They were my comrades, but never my friends." That had been a great source of pain for him. "Aizen and the others only sought to use me. Here, I am completely powerless. No one fears me or wants to use me, except perhaps for a game of shogi." He glanced at Nakaru who smiled amiably. "I have friends here. And in exchange for this, you are offering to return part of my powers, put me beneath distrustful shinigami who will no doubt see me as a monster, and require that I jump through hoops to prove myself." He summed it all up before smiling. "I decline your invitation." There was a brief silence before Shunsui began to laugh. The female taichou gave him a sharp look before glaring at Nakaru.

"Did you set him up to this?" She asked suspiciously and he just shrugged innocently. "Doesn't the environment bother you?" She asked and Starrk shook his head. He knew the shinigami inmates found it both bleak and depressing. Many eventually went mad, from the surroundings and the hopelessness. But…

"I am a hollow. Did you know that Szayel was able to determine what my age was, before I removed my mask and formed my Lilinette?" He said and Kyoraku winced a little at the reminder. "I can't remember the exact number but it was over a thousand years. And I didn't just meet Aizen directly after that. I may be older than the two of you put together and I spent it staring at sand and mountains of corpses." He paused for a moment, then smiled sadly. "This environment does not bother me in the least." He was used to vistas of bleakness. And nothing about this was depressing compared to the mountains of bones. "Unless you have a much better offer to make, you may leave." He had no interest in discussing it further.

"Ah, the prisoner is setting his own terms? I love it! Come Soi Fon. I think we need to let everyone know of his response." Shunsui said cheerfully before leading the smaller taichou out. She kept glancing back, as if she couldn't really believe it. Starrk just turned away.

He was not interested in leaving his new home.


End file.
